


patience

by searwrites (sears)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Age Swap, KageSuga Week, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 23:27:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5434799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sears/pseuds/searwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>small ficlet for day 2 of kagesuga week: age swap</p>
            </blockquote>





	patience

Sugawara Koushi, first year, short silver hair and bright beaming smile, comes into Tobio’s life like an unwelcome flashlight to the face. It’s blinding, for a moment – disorienting. All it takes is a shove to the side, though, and Tobio can focus again.

–

“I hope one day I can play on the court with you, Kageyama-senpai!”

Sugawara skids towards him and bows with an oddly graceful flail of arms, before tucking them neatly to his sides as he stays bent at a perfect ninety degree angle. Tobio glances anxiously around the room, scowls at idiot Hinata’s barely concealed laughter, and then clears his throat from almost an entire morning’s worth of disuse. University scouts are weaving in and out of campus unannounced. Tobio has no time to waste on anything that isn’t volleyball.

“You can stand up,” Tobio grumbles, awkwardly waving, and pointedly ignoring the fact that Tsukishima is now laughing too, albeit more discreetly than the hyena cackles Hinata is now not even bothering to hide. “Um. What’s your name?”

He knows his name, knows everything about all of the new recruits. Yamaguchi says he’s the ‘shadow captain’, whatever that means. Captaincy would look good on his record, but his focus was never to lead. Yamaguchi is much better at it than him, at least. He can tame Hinata, miraculously.

Sugawara perks up like he’s pleasantly shocked that Tobio is actually speaking to him.

Interesting.

“Sugawara Koushi, it’s a pleasure to meet you!” he pipes out enthusiastically, pinkening a little in his cheeks.

Sugawara Koushi, 14 years of age, setter, liked by pretty much all of his classmates, doted on by many upperclassmen, though he has a reputation for snapping at some of the second years when they mention his height. Intelligent, both scholarly and strategically. He takes notes on other teams, watches plays when nobody expects or asks him to. He attends every single game and practice, even though he’s barely had a chance to get his feet wet, so to speak. Determined, driven. Organized. Tobio catalogs it all in the span of a few awkwardly silent moments between them.

Sugawara fidgets beneath his intent and probably uncomfortable stare.

“Good luck this weekend, I’ll be cheering for you,” Sugawara says quickly, before bowing curtly and then leaving Tobio to frown at the spot he vacates.

None of the other first years have said a word to him.

 _Brave_ , Tobio thinks. _Sugawara Koushi is brave._

–

They lose on match point, third set. Tobio is fuming, and Yamaguchi looks at him the way he often does when Tobio needs to be left to cool off: like he’s a caged animal, a jaguar pacing within the confines of wire and steel. He falls heavily to the concrete steps outside the gym to cool off, even though the sun warms his skin almost instantly.

Tobio feels a quiet, wumph of air at the edge of his shorts, and he turns to see Sugawara perched on the steps next to him. It’s easier to breathe outside, and Tobio doesn’t feel the urge to scour the crowd for scouts. He played well, but not well enough.

“You and Hinata-senpai work really well together on the court,” Sugawara says, seemingly to himself almost, as he gazes up at the wispy clouds floating away from the gym. Tobio watches him intently. “It’s a shame you lost, but it wasn’t due to your lack of skill or coordination.”

Sugawara speaks like he knows exactly what he means to say, which is endearing in a way that Tobio struggles to understand. Perhaps it’s because he never seems to be sure of what he means, at least not outside of volleyball. People are confusing – except, Sugawara isn’t.

“I’m not mad we lost,” Tobio says, doing his best to keep as much anger from his tone as possible, lest Sugawara thinks it’s directed at him. He’s a little exhausted, if he’s honest, of people treating him like a delicate thing at risk of breaking from too much handling. It’s nice to be spoken to without pretense. “I know we won’t win every game.”

Sugawara turns to him and smiles like he’s proud. _Cute_ , Tobio thinks, and then blushes hotly because of it.

“That’s right,” Sugawara says brightly, and then with a sage tone of wisdom well above his age, he adds, “Sometimes you need to lose to gain perspective.”

“Will you set for me?” Tobio blurts as he stares with a tight frown at Sugawara’s thoughtful expression, and then fumbles over the words clogging his throat at the instantaneous way Sugawara’s face goes slack in surprise. “For practice. I need to be better rounded. And I’d like to see your play style.”

Sugawara grins easily, “Sure, Kageyama-senpai.”

–

They spend time together outside of traditional practice, because Tobio can’t seem to take his mind off the game, and Sugawara would be distracting him either way, so it’s best to keep it to the court. Sugawara’s style is basic, but it’s his learning curve that’s impressive. He utilizes failures and criticism and improves on them, which is something Tobio was never that good at when he was younger.

Sugawara also likes to talk a lot, both on the court with the ball in the air, and also splayed out on the polished floors, panting hard with both their chests rising and falling in synch after a good round of practice. He talks, and doesn’t seem to mind that Tobio doesn’t talk back. He seems content just having someone listening to him, which is nice. Sugawara is easy to be around.

One night after practice, Sugawara exits the gym with one of the spare balls held against his hip with his arm. Tobio doesn’t question it, not until Sugawara approaches him in the dark, sneakers crunching on the gravel outside by the parking lot.

Sugawara pushes the ball into Tobio’s stomach, and Tobio notes for a brief moment that his hands are trembling. Still, Sugawara looks him directly in the eye as he speaks.

“Please sign this ball for me, Senpai. You might be famous one day, and no one will believe I got the chance to play with you.”

Tobio takes it slowly, his hands brushing over Sugawara’s as they drop from the ball once he’s got a grip on it. Sugawara blushes pink, and finally looks away when Tobio – absolutely helpless – smiles crookedly down at him. He’s got an ugly smile, he knows, so he covers it with one hand to save Sugawara from having to see it.

“You’re ridiculous,” he mumbles from behind his palm, and he bites down an even wider grin at the way Sugawara huffs indignantly. Once he’s schooled his face into something more acceptable, he holds out the hand that was previously covering his mouth. “Pen?”

Sugawara pulls a black marker from his pocket, and watches with a small, almost secret little smile to himself as Tobio signs the ball. Sugawara blows gently over the ink when Tobio hands it back to him, his mouth a soft, plush pink. His eyes almost seem to glisten when he looks at Tobio again, but Tobio blames that on the poor, blue lighting of the lot at night.

“Thank you,” Sugawara almost whispers, and Tobio grunts something that’s meant to be a _‘you’re welcome’_ as he walks briskly away.

–

–

–

Sugawara is there sitting with his hands tangled tightly together in his lap when Tobio graduates, which he is rudely distracted from staring at when Hinata jumps on his back and begins hollering for no discernable reason. He shoves Hinata off eventually, and bites down another crooked smile when Hinata grips his shoulder and reminds him, “You did it, _we_ did it.”

Sugawara finds him after the ceremony, out in the park where the birds fly low beneath the extended branches of the trees, the grass littered in white and pink blossoms. He holds out a small black box of baked sweets, tied up in orange ribbon, school colors. Sugawara is always appropriately festive, even when it’s something more personal. Tobio thinks absently that Sugawara might end up captaining the team in his absence. He’d be good at it.

“I’m happy to have known you,” Sugawara says as he bows, and it would sound too formal, too forced coming from anyone else, but there is a genuinely grateful waver to his words that makes Tobio’s ribcage feel too small for the heavy thud of his heartbeat.

“Thanks,” Tobio says, and he will wonder for a few weeks following that moment if he shouldn’t have said, _‘I am too’_. He hopes Sugawara knows without having to be told.

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

It takes Tobio all of thirty seconds to spot Suga in the stands. His silver hair always made him stand out, or maybe Tobio uses that as a convenient excuse. He stands a bit taller, though still not as tall as Tobio himself. He’s wearing a button up shirt beneath a soft, grey sweater, and fitted jeans. His hair is a bit longer, but three years has done absolutely nothing to his smile. Tobio finds himself thankful that part is the most familiar.

“Thought I would show my support,” Suga responds when Tobio questions why he’s here, why he isn’t studying for finals, why he isn’t focusing on his university prep course. He leans up on the balls of his feet and fixes the way one of Tobio’s jersey sleeves are folded upwards, and then swipes his hand down the length of Tobio’s shoulder, fixing him – fussing over him. Tobio is sweaty and hot and his biceps are burning in a way that makes his head feel a bit light, and Suga’s touch is like a balm, soothing and welcome.

“You could have texted me first,” Tobio grumbles, because he likes being difficult with Suga. He gets huffy with him, and Tobio enjoys that side of him the most, for whatever reason.

Suga still plays volleyball, but not as much as Tobio had in his third year. Tobio is kind of glad to see him drifting from it, because he’s smart enough to get into a good school on merit alone, something Tobio had been sorely lacking. He needed a sports scholarship, but Suga does not. He isn’t captain either, Suga’s close friend Sawamura took that role, and Tobio often finds himself recalling the term ‘shadow captain’ and thinks, oddly, this is the one trait they might have in common. He’s even made setting his focus, which makes Tobio warm with pride to think about.

Suga shrugs easily, lets his hand fall from Tobio’s shoulder. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Tobio dips his head quickly to press a soft, lingering kiss to Suga’s cheek, up close to his temple. Suga allows it, which Tobio is still learning to wrap his head around, and his stomach shivers when Suga bunches his hands in Tobio’s jersey there, pulling slightly.

“Go shower,” Suga says with fond exasperation, re-fixing the jersey he’d just rumpled, and pushing Tobio at the center of his chest with an open palm.

Tobio squeezes once at Suga’s thin wrist before letting go, and walks towards the locker room. This will be their third date, Tobio is still running on an adrenaline high, and Suga is always somehow happy to wait for him. _Brave,_ Tobio thinks, _and persistent._

**Author's Note:**

> ([twitter](https://twitter.com/ashemasteryi))


End file.
